Japan’s Abe ups the ante over China radar lock

A chinese military vessel pointed a radar at Japanese destroyer Yuudachi, pictured, according to Japan.
Photo: Reuters/Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force

by
Martin Fackler

The radar lock that a Chinese frigate put on a Japanese warship is “dangerous", Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says, as tensions in a territorial row heighten.

“It was a dangerous act that could have led to an unpredictable situation," Abe told parliament on Wednesday.

“It is extremely regrettable. We strongly ask for their self-restraint in order to avoid an unnecessary escalation."

Abe’s comments come a day after his defence minister announced weapon-targeting radar had been directed at the Japanese vessel in international waters of the East China Sea last week.

The move marks the first time the two nations’ navies have locked horns in a dispute that has some commentators warning about a possible armed conflict.

US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the US was “concerned".

“With regard to the reports of this particular lock-on incident, actions such as this escalate tensions and increase the risk of an incident or a miscalculation, and they could undermine peace, stability and economic growth in this vital region," she said.

Earlier, the Japanese Defence Ministry also said a Chinese frigate directed the same kind of radar at one of Japan’s military helicopters in a previously undisclosed episode on January 19.

Related Quotes

Company Profile

In both cases, the Japanese government said, the Chinese ships eventually turned off the radar without firing, but the Defence Minister, Itsunori Onodera, warned that such actions increased the chances that any missteps in a dispute over the islands could veer into a larger confrontation.

‘A dangerous situation’

Mr Onodera said that in the latest episode, a Chinese Navy frigate directed its fire-control radar at a Japanese destroyer on January 30 near the islands known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China that are controlled by Japan but also claimed by China and Taiwan.

The Defence Ministry said that the Chinese ship’s radar was turned on for “a matter of minutes" and that there was no communication between the two ships, before or after. It said the Japanese ship responded to the radar signal with “standard evasive manoeuvres."

“One step in the wrong direction could have pushed things into a dangerous situation," Mr Onodera told reporters about the use of the radar.

Japanese officials said the use of such radar was a threatening gesture that signified an increase in tensions, which have been growing since Japan’s government announced last year that it would buy three of the five uninhabited islands from a Japanese citizen. Japan has controlled the islands for decades. The Chinese responded to that move by sending paramilitary surveillance ships almost daily into or near Japanese-claimed waters around the islands, where they engage in cat-and-mouse manoeuvres with Japanese Coast Guard ships.

On Monday, a senior Chinese military commander, Qi Jianguo, said protecting China’s “core national interest" at sea was an “unshakable mission." He added, “No country should underestimate the staunch will of the Chinese nation to defend its national sovereignty."

The dispute between the countries intensified in December when Chinese surveillance aircraft began flying near the islands. Tensions rose another notch last month, when Japan and China scrambled fighter jets.

The most recent reported radar action would be among the first to involve naval warships from both nations, which had until now been kept in the background to avoid a dangerous escalation. With tensions so high, military experts in Japan and the United States say their biggest fear is some accident or miscalculation resulting in an unintended exchange of fire.

The Chinese incursions are seen by Japanese political leaders and analysts as part of a new strategy to press Japan into officially acknowledging that a territorial dispute exists. They also say that by maintaining a nearly constant presence, China hopes to undermine Japan’s claims to be in sole control of the islands.

Japan has responded by stepping up its own surveillance, including keeping a small flotilla of coast guard ships near the islands, which are between Okinawa and Taiwan.

The purchase of the islands in September set off violent protests in China, where the islands are seen by many as the last pieces of Chinese territory to remain in Japanese hands from its foray into empire building. Japan says China showed interest in the islands only after undersea oil and natural gas deposits were discovered.